Help a Sweet Chica Out, Por Favor?

I have no idea why I wrote the subject title that way. I blame the two cups of coffee.

Okay, I'm trying to decide between these names for the birdboy. I'd love some input, if y'all would be so kind:

[Poll #1352658]

Thanks! I'm actually leaning towards 'Ash' at the moment, but well, collaborative naming is fun! (Oh, and I need the results before 4:00 PM today, CST. No pressure! Ha.)

Hi! My name is Leah Silverman, the Greatest Unpublished Writer in the World!

And I'm spamming my FList today! Do-dah, do-dah.

I'm also psychic. I was just thinking to myself, 'wouldn't it be awful hilarious if, just as I've finished writing my brigits_flame entry for this week, I get an e-mail from my agent telling me another publisher turned me down?'

And I got an e-mail from my agent telling me another publisher turned me down.

Now, I have to say that as rejections go this one was awesome. I won't indulge my whorish need for self-aggrandizement myself here by actually posting it, but it was seriously about as good a response one could hope for except for the obvious wee problem that they didn't actually want my book.

They thought it was too slow. Again. I'm wondering when my agent will crack and finally tell me to go back and re-edit the damn thing.

Anyway, I am definitely disappointed, but considering how nice this e-mail was, not to mention how sweetly my agent talked me up to these people in the first place, I'm not as miserable as I might otherwise be. However, since this was another big-name publisher that turned me down, I'm getting worried that eventually the only one left to take me will be Bob's Basement Sci-Fi. And my advance will be about fifty bucks in pocket change and a gift-certificate for a slice of pie at Denny's the next time I'm in Albuquerque.

Not that I'm in it for the money, but, well, I'd rather be an author people actually know about. And the money would be really, really nice. I won't lie about that.

But! There's at least one press left in this round, and hopefully there will be another round if this one doesn't work out, either. Just, wish me luck, guys? I fear I'm needing it.

"Chordata" (Round Three Entry for the February brigits_flame Writing Contest)

Wasn't sure I was going to make it this week, but here we are. Another one in the Gills 'verse, and a sequel to Class Aves, which I'm feeling too lazy to link to at the moment, so please be so kind as to use the tags below if you'd like to read it.

I want to thank everyone who voted in my fabulous poll earlier today. I've decided to go with Ash for the avan. However, I think I'm going to change Jak to Anthony at some later date, but I'll leave him Jak for now for the sake of not wanting to confuse anyone, least of all myself.

I hope you enjoy this, and thank you very much for voting for me last week. I also should mention that the icon is related to the vignette, and not so much how I feel about the vignette, though it is nonetheless true for that as well.

The theme this round was 'Harmony'. And here's a link to brigits_flame.

( You just can't leave anything alone, can you? )